SEATTLE, Wash. — In a House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee work session at the Washington Statehouse, state leaders heard feedback about the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW).

The KWW has been in effect since 2019 and limits the extent to which local and state officers can work with federal immigration officers. The law has recently caught the Trump Administration’s attention for creating a “sanctuary jurisdiction” within Washington state. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the KWW thwarts state law.

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That’s why Representative and Chair of the state GOP Jim Walsh questions whether the law needs to be reevaluated in its entirety.

“If the implementation of Keep Washington Working [Act] thwarts the enforcement of federal law, doesn’t the supremacy clause take effect and require that we reconsider the conflicting language in Keep Washington Working,” Walsh questioned.

The federal government is also threatening criminal charges to elected officials who enforce KWW, as well as the loss of federal dollars for noncompliance with federal law.

The state AG’s office, though, said they do not believe that the KWW, or any other law in the state, violates any federal law. This all comes as Trump moves forward with his promised mass deportation agenda.

“This time around it’s different, this time around it’s more intense, this time around it’s scarier,” said Soumyo Lahiri-Gupta, the Immigration Advocacy Manager for OneAmerica.

Immigration advocates, like Lahiri-Gupta, are asking for more clarification in the law.

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“Making sure that we’re applying keep Washington working consistently and also ensuring that the laws that apply to our local law enforcement and state entities also apply equally and effectively to our state agencies as well,” he said.

According to the state attorney general’s office, one in seven Washingtonians is an immigrant, or about 1 million people.

Walsh agreed, clarifications are needed, but in a different way.

“In the actual statutory law itself, [the] Keep Washington Working [Act], there is a lack of distinction between illegal and legal immigrants,” Walsh said.

No changes have been made to the law yet, but it could be a discussion when lawmakers come back to session next year.